“HMS Detroit Aground on Squaw Island,” a painting by John Montague, is part of the exhibition “War of 1812” in Artsphere Studio and Gallery.

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As part of the ongoing, yearlong celebration of the War of 1812 bicentennial in the United States and Canada, Artsphere Studio and Gallery (447 Amherst St.) is opening two exhibitions meant to mark the role of Western New York – and the Black Rock neighborhood in particular – in that great conflict.

The first, “War of 1812,” features paintings by local watercolorist Rita Argen Auerbach, maritime painter John Montague and other works by J. Tim Raymond, Eugene Cunningham and Artsphere owner Doreen DeBoth. The companion exhibition “War on the Lakes” features a variety of work.

“Much activity happened right here in Black Rock: Five of [Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard] Perry’s ships were refitted for war at the Scajaquada Creek Naval Yard and three participated in the Battle of Lake Erie in September 1813,” DeBoth wrote in an email. The Burning of Black Rock and Buffalo occurred in December 1813, and the Battle of Scajaquada Creek Bridge took place later in August 1814, he said.